[GERMANY - Weimar - Adolf Hitler]

Braunbuch über Reichstagsbrand und Hitler-Terror [The Brown Book of the Reichstag Fire and Hitler Terror]

Basel: Universum-Bücherei, 1933. First Edition. Hardcover. Tall 8vo. Pp. 382. Illustrated with black & white halftone photo reproductions and document facsimiles. Introduction by Lord Marley. Brown textured cloth, titles stamped in black on the cover and spine, brown endpapers. Spine ends chipped, hinges starting, edges rubbed, head edge dust soiled, text leaves variably age toned. Good. Item #6721

On the day after the fire the Nazis issued the Reichstag Fire Decree suspending civil liberties, alleging a Communist plot, and later put five men on trial. This book was written in response by a group led by German Communist activist and propagandist Willi Münzenberg, making the case that it was a Nazi-ordered operation, and issued in August 1933 by Münzenberg's publishing house after fleeing Germany for Switzerland. Debate over those responsible for the arson continues, but the book and mock countertrial in London are still seen as highly effective.

Stated at the foot of the contents page: Das Braunbuch wurde gegen Ende Juni abgeschlossen. In das Mord-Kapitel worde noch ein Fall aus dem Juli aufgenommen. Die Liste der Ermordeten worde während der Drucklegung des Buches weitergeführt. (The Brown Book was completed towards the end of June. Another case from July was included in the murder chapter. The list of those murdered was continued as the book went to press.)

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Price: $75.00